1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag deployment assistance member that assists the deployment of a curtain airbag of an airbag device equipped in a vehicle and to a curtain airbag device having the airbag deployment assistance member.
2. Description of Related Art
As an airbag deployment assistance member of this type, an envelope member as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-137753 is conventionally known. As illustrated in FIG. 11 of the present application, the envelope member 40 includes an edge portion 40b attached to an A-pillar and a body portion 40′ having a C-shaped cross-section extending from one end of the edge portion 40b. The envelope member 40 holds a curtain airbag 21 that is folded inside the body portion 40′. Since the body portion 40′ has a plurality of protruding portions disposed close to an A-pillar trim, the body portion 40′ has higher rigidity than the edge portion 40b. As a result, when deployment force of the curtain airbag 21 is applied, the body portion 40′ rotates clockwise about a bent portion 40x that connects the edge portion 40b and an edge portion 40a. With this rotation, an edge portion 40c of the body portion 40′ is oriented toward the backward side slightly further than a rear edge of the A-pillar trim and the deployment of the curtain airbag 21 is guided in the orientation direction.
However, the envelope member 40 is configured such that the rotation of the body portion 40′ is not restricted during airbag deployment. Due to this, in some cases when the airbag is deployed, a rotation amount of the body portion 40′ varies and an airbag deployment direction in which the body portion 40′ is oriented also varies.
Moreover, when the airbag is deployed, the airbag deployed may be caught at an interior garnish and the interior garnish may be broken.